bits & pieces

Main menu

Monthly Archives: April 2013

I spend tons of time on Pinterst pinning away but rarely ever make anything. I know I’m not alone on this- thank you very much you other pinning freaks for making me not the only other person who can waste a whole evening online.

But last night was different…

I actually cooked! (sort of, does a crock pot count?)

It was edible!

And I actually used a recipe that I found on Pinterest (so see, I’m not totally wasting time).

But I will admit, it was a pretty darn easy recipe. Chicken Tacos. And it only has 3 ingredients you throw in the crock pot. So it is practically fool proof.

But it was really good. I’m proud of myself (not that I created the recipe, just that I was able to duplicate it and my family could actually eat it) and I would definitely make it again.

There have been so many times that I have wished for a day off to just “do nothing!” And I believe that if you keep wishing for something hard enough, eventually it comes true. But I had to have surgery just to get a day off. Maybe next time I should be more specific with my wish, like pain-free.

But really, I have been sick since October off and on. I thought I was getting the flu-like once a month. It would only last a day, but it was excruciating. The vomiting and the back pain. It got so intense at times I could barely see or breath. And for the first 3 or so months, I just kept thinking, “Man, really?! The flu again?!” But then it would be over by the next day and I would forget about it…until it happened again. I knew I wasn’t pregnant, so I figured it had to be the flu.

I don’t know why I put off going to the doctor for so long. I guess it might be a mom thing. I get busy and just forget. It didn’t even really occur to me to go to the doctor because it would go away and then I would carry on with my life. It was my mom who finally said, “I don’t think you are getting the flu every single month for this long. You should call the doctor.”

So I finally did. They told me I had to have my gall bladder removed. My gall bladder? I forgot I even had an organ with such a name, let alone to know what it did or what the heck it is for. But since I have had it and I mention it to someone, they are all like, “Oh, yea. I had to have mine removed too” or “Oh, my daughter just had hers removed last year.” Like this is a common thing. Who knew.

But surgery is still surgery, even if it is outpatient and laparoscopic, it still sucks. It’s so weird thinking that something in me isn’t working right and they can just “fix” it by removing it. It is so weird thinking of my body sprawled out on an operating table and allowing another human being to take something from inside my body. Just weird. Like, what do they do with it? What did it look like? Was it hard to get out? Did they have to yank and pull? Or was it “lasered” out? I try not to think of myself out cold on a slab like a specimen and something is being taken from inside my body. Glad I didn’t wake up to aliens.

But I’m also so thankful that I could be fixed. Thank you modern medicine. Because I am really tired of being sick. There were so many days hovering over the toilet bowel, heaving my guts out. I couldn’t even take care of my kids, who would be barging in the bathroom, “Hi, mom! Ewwww…ewwww…” but still staring because that seems to be what my lil’ weird toddlers do. Smarten up kids, mommy’s puking. Run the other way. Nobody wants to witness this.

Today is the first day since my surgery that I’m starting to feel like myself again. I can move without feeling like my insides are going to slide out of the incision on my belly button. The pain isn’t as bad and I can finally move again, although bending is still a little difficult.

So since I had some “recovery” time I have been laying around burning through the books, which is exactly what I have always wanted to do with “a day off to do nothing.” I have been putting my feet up, reading and napping. Oh, and immensely enjoying the TOTAL and COMPLETE silence. I can go all day without even turning on the tv and it is wonderful! I absolutely love it.

I have been on so many adventures these last couple of days. I started reading James Patterson’s “Maximum Ride” series. I am addicted! It’s totally a young adult book and it’s totally an awesome read- a thrill ride. The pages fly by like the hybrid mutant bird kids that I have come to love so much.

I’m almost done with the third book. I have been averaging a book a day, gobbling them up and snapping through them like guzzling down a pack of Pop Rocks. These books are soooo my new favorite candy. They rock!

So I gotta go join my “flock” now and see what kind of butt we can kick tonight! We are off to France.

It was just last week that I stood at the kitchen counter after all of our Easter eggs hunts and family gatherings. I popped open the plastic eggs and poured the kids’ candy into a community candy bowl; jelly beans, Reeses’ cups, scrunched up packs of Skittles and Miniature m&m’s. My eyes glazed over in a sugar coma as I looked over the sea of candy.

Holy Crap! These kids have a shitload of candy!

Let’s do the math. 4 kids + 3 Easter egg hunts (home and both grandparents’ houses) = 8 chocolate bunnies and waaaayy too much candy, probably enough to hold us over until Halloween (I will throw it out way before then). There is so much candy my eyes are turning into jelly beans. I just can’t believe how much candy there is. They got other stuff too; bubbles, bouncy balls, sidewalk chalk, books…but I’m still amazed at the amount of sugar.

Why do we do this each and every year?

We fill and hide eggs from the “Easter Bunny,” they gobble up as much as they possibly can and bounce around on a sugar high until I take it away, declaring “Easter egg hunt is over. Hand over all your eggs. You are not eating Peeps for breakfast!” Such a mean mom… but I do let them eat a little bit.

The twins, they suck at hunting for Easter eggs. They each found three or four eggs and promptly sat their diapered booties on the steps and ate up their goodies. They refused to find anymore. They were content with popping jelly beans in their mouths and watching the boys collect the rest of the eggs. When they wanted more, they held out their hands and grunted and Collin would deliver an egg to each sticky hand.

That’s why I decided next year I’m filling eggs with cereal; Captain Crunch, Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops, Cocoa Puffs – all the kinds of cereal I rarely ever buy. Then, instead of taking the time in the morning to feed them breakfast, I can just send them outside to hunt for their meal. Win win situation. It kind of reminds me of a Family Guy episode where the babysitter threw a bunch of crackers in the yard along with Stewie. “There’s your lunch. Go get it.” I’ve always wanted to do that. Here’s my chance with a good excuse, Easter!

Until they get older…I can picture it now…them throwing the plastic eggs at me, a blue egg bouncing off my head and spraying cereal everywhere. Orange and purple and hot pink eggs hitting my arms and sides and legs, leaving little welt marks and breaking open, crunch berries and fruit loops littering the yard. “What the hell?! What kind of Easter bunny leaves cereal?! Where are the real eggs?! Where is the damn candy?!” The rebellion.

But I actually did fill a few eggs this year with cereal. After I took the eggs away, the girls just went into a fit. They didn’t understand. They screamed and whined. They turned into the evil twins. It was horrible. So I took a couple empty eggs and filled them with Cheerios and they were happy. Problem solved. Crying stopped. Phew!

But I was really happy this year. The kids were so good helping each other find eggs. They didn’t push or shove or get stingy. They were so helpful and nice to each other. Bradley, still on crutches with his broken leg, couldn’t even bend down to pick up the eggs off the ground. Collin was so nice and helpful. Bradley would say, “Collin, see that green sparkly one? I want that one.” And Collin would get it for him and pick one up for himself. They were so good, which rarely happens for that amount of time, especially when candy is involved.

Email Subscription

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Hi! I'm Amanda. This blog is about "bits & pieces" of our life. It can get a little crazy around here with 4 (sometimes 6) kids and two cute dogs. Welcome to our craziness. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment. They make my day.